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The Slate bids farewell to Chelsea, waves hello to Cara

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We meet again, and for the final time. I avoided writing this letter as long as possible. Mostly because I knew I would start crying, and I knew I would start crying because writing this letter really meant my time with The Slate has finally come to an end.

I feel as if someone hit the fast-forward button. Four years ago I was a wide-eyed freshman, curious and excited about what my college years had in store for me. Now I am a senior who wears sweatpants three days out of the week wondering where all those years went.

I honestly do not even know what to say to you, readers. I cannot even begin to think about how to describe how much The Slate means to me. The experience I have had in The Slate office is something that I will never forget. It made my college experience. I know who I am, what I want to do, and much of that is because of The Slate.

For a long time, I think I will probably feel like something is missing. I will not hear that ringtone for The Slate email on my phone anymore, I will not have that key on my keychain or the Staples card in my wallet.

I have no regrets. I have loved and cherished every minute with The Slate. There have been lots of laughs, angry vents and even some tears over the years. We worked hard, but we had so much fun doing it. At The Slate, you become somewhat like a family, and I am going to miss my family dearly.

It is so hard to say goodbye, but it is time to move on and pass the torch on to the next editor-in-chief.

Cara Shumaker, who will be taking over as editor-in-chief next year is one of my closest friends. She and I have spent so many hours working on The Slate, that we should have beds set up under our desks. I could not have asked for a better sidekick. She made me a better leader. She will make an astounding editor-in-chief, and I think we will be dumbfounded by what she has in store. No one deserves the position as editor-in-chief more than she.

I have to thank Dr. Michael Drager, adviser to The Slate, for everything he has done over the years. He is the heart and soul of our newspaper, and without him, we would be lost. He is my mentor, and I have learned so much from him, and grown so much from his advice and lessons over the years.

I cannot thank my wonderful staff enough. They have tolerated (and hopefully listened) to my lectures, worked tirelessly without complaint and stayed sometimes very late on production night. I am so proud of them and everything they have achieved. They have made it such a pleasure to serve as Eeditor-in-chief.

I am so grateful to the faculty who have helped The Slate and I more than multiple times. Their support made running this newspaper so much easier.

And finally to you, readers, thank you so much for all the support over the years. I hope you are as proud of The Slate as I am, and hope you continue to support The Slate for years to come. As always, I wish you all the very best in all your future endeavors.
Thank you all for the wonderful years.

Yours,
Chelsea Wehking
Editor-in-Chief
2011-2013

Cara’s Letter:

Dear Slate Readers,

I cannot believe another year has gone by. I feel as though the semester just started, but here we are with it ending.

This year has been great for The Slate. The staff has grown so much that nearly every position is filled by at least one person. I cannot express how happy I am with the editors, writers and photographers for their fantastic work this year.

Because of their hard work, we were honored to win first place for best overall newspaper from the American Scholastic Press Association for the second year in a row. Along with that award, our sports editor Sam Stewart received an honorable mention from the Pennsylvania News-media Association for his three-part web series “A Broken Crutch.”

Sadly, though, many of our staff members will be leaving us in just about two weeks because of graduation. Among them is Sam and editor-in-chief Chelsea Wehking. Joining them are news editor Colleen Bauer, chief copy editor Lauren Miscavage, assistant copy editor Ashley Stoudnour, chief graphic designer Emily MaCoy and assistant web editor Theresa Helwig.

Each of these staff members has made major contributions that have put The Slate on the level it is at now. I cannot thank them enough for all they have done for the organization and the publication.

As I said above, Chelsea, the current editor-in-chief, is graduating in about two weeks and, although I am thrilled to be replacing her next year, I will certainly miss her leadership and I have learned a great deal from her. She has left me large shoes to fill and I hope the staff can help me fill them to the point of overflowing.

I absolutely cannot wait for the fall semester to get here and to begin working with Sarah Eyd, the new managing editor (my replacement). I have big dreams and big plans for The Slate next year.

Congratulations to all the graduating seniors in the Class of 2013. I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you pursue.